Five Actors Who Should Voice Toy Story 4

In this series, we speculate on what actors would be the perfect choice to play an upcoming character, or what type of character a particular actor is best suited for. Feel free to unilaterally agree with all our picks voice your opinion in the comments!

There are a few unpleasant realities about big entertainment businesses and how they sell their products to children. One that everyone is aware of is the fight for product awareness, i.e. a built-in audience to guarantee ticket sales to a movie. So, while Pixar is an animation studio famous for bringing families together under the banner of "ambitious new ideas made into quality films for everyone," they have also made a policy to crank out gimme-style sequels with recognizable properties in order to finance their more artistic endeavors.

Therefore, we have had a Cars 2, a Monsters University, and we now brace for Finding Dory and Toy Story 4.

But the ongoing saga of low-tech child's playthings could be used to discuss another unpleasant reality in the same area of business: the increasing discussion of gender-specific marketing in the toy industry. For instance, the recent absences of Black Widow and Rey from their respective franchise toy sets, certain department stores vowing to do away with the segregation of "boy aisles" and "girl aisles," and the parents throwing epic conniption fits over pink and blue being gender-identifying in any product at all.

Of course, Pixar would be subtle about it and give us a heartwarming adventure with Woody and Buzz and all our favorite friends front-row-center. But with this subtext rolling for us, this could be a great movie. Who would join Hanks and Allen and Cusack and the rest, though?

1. Glenn Close

Already one of the great actors of her generation, Close has decades of experience with dynamic voiceover work in films like Disney's Tarzan and Hoodwinked! along with a terrific recurring role on "The Simpsons." She's also devoted a few years of her life to mastering the difficult task of translating a cartoon character into live action with Cruella De Ville. She sings, her voice has such a range between sugary and acidic, and she's recently been spotted in comparable projects that have her regal professional status at odds with the material *COUGH-Guardians of the Galaxy-COUGH*

I imagine if Pixar got a hold of Close they would use her talent for a new human character who acts as an obstacle for the toys, much like Sid and Al before. Imagine a zealot-like member of a parents' group like the One Million Moms, or possibly a devious children's TV personality akin to a mean-spirited "Wiggles" host shilling merchandise to Bonnie (the girl who inherited the toys from Andy).